Continuation of Russian 1101 (101). Emphasis on the acquisition of language skills through imitation and repetition of basic language patterns; multimedia material (seeing and making short film clips); the development of facility in speaking through interactive dialogues and understanding simple Russian. Conversation hour with native speaker.

RUS 2204. Intermediate Russian II.

A continuation of Russian 2203 (203). Emphasis on maintaining and improving the student’s facility in speaking and understanding normal conversational Russian. Writing and reading skills are also stressed. Conversation hour with native speaker.

RUS 2230. Seeing the Soviets, Seeing the West: Culture and Politics on the Page and Screen.

This cultural studies course surveys Soviet and Western perceptions of one another in literature, film, and other visual media between 1920 and the late 1960s. Course materials provide the historical and cultural context for reconsidering the traditional Cold War tensions that shaped aspects of today’s political climate. Topics studied include: ideological wars transposed to the cultural sphere, “fellow-travelling,” ways of seeing “the other,” and the propagandistic function of film. Texts range from classics of Soviet film (the musical Circus) to the Western portrayal of Soviet “dystopia” (Orwell’s 1984). Short theoretical texts will supplement visual materials. Conducted in English.

RUS 2235. Radicalism and Resistance in 19th Century Russian LIterature.

Why did prominent Russian writers end up exiled, in prison, or even excommunicated? This course will introduce students to key cultural and literary moments in the tumultuous 19th-century Russian radical tradition. Special attention will be paid to how literature engages in political debates, psychological portraits of Russian radicals, the role of gender in revolutionary politics, and depictions of resistance in the work of canonical writers. Authors covered include Pushkin, Turgenev, Tolstoy, Chernyshevsky, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov. Readings from the celebrated intellectual Alexander Herzen and the famed anarchist Mikhail Bakunin will supplement the primary focus on works of fiction. Conducted in English.